I remember when I had $100 worth of books in my arms at the bookstore. The problem was, I didn’t have $100. I ended up having to put most back and only buying two. I had such a hard time deciding which books I should get, but I knew one of them had to be The Bone Witch by a Filipino woman, Rin Chupeco.
Synopsis
(copied and pasted from Amazon)
Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise. If there’s anything I’ve learned from him in the years since, it’s that the dead hide truths as well as the living.
When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha―one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.
Title and Cover
If attraction could kill, this book would be a serial killer. At least, it would have killed me. The Bone Witch is such an elegant title that just rolls off the tongue. Add that with an absolutely gorgeous cover AND the tagline “Let me be clear, I never intended to raise my brother from his grave”? It was impossible for me to not buy this book, guys. It just was.
Plot
The plot here is what I like to call the Harry-Potter-plotline. A character finds they have strange powers, they go to a place to learn how to use those powers, regular school life for a bit, then something more sinister happens that keeps the character from having a “normal” life. I personally love this kind of plotline. It just works. There are so many different ways you can take it, and I love the way Chupeco handles it.
Characters
Let me get this out of the way: I love Tea. She’s a perfect flawed, but likable character. In fact, almost all of the characters fall under this category (but Tea is my favorite). The characters are extremely realistic and if there’s one thing I love, it’s realistic characters.
Setting
The world that the novel takes place in is just beautiful. There are so many different cultures and I would honestly love a book that goes into each and every one of them in detail, textbook-style. A lot of the cultures are touched briefly in the novel and there’s an overview of each of them in the back. Not to mention there’s a sequel (that I haven’t had the chance to read yet) that hopefully explores them even more!
Style
The writing style of The Bone Witch was not one that I was used to. I think an important fact that I kept forgetting was that the book is a novel that read as if it was told by mouth. This results in a lot more telling than showing, which really works! I just wasn’t used to it myself.
Overall
Basically, the book is just beautiful. Not just looks-wise, but the writing as well. If you want a fantasy novel that leaves you feeling enchanted, I think this one would be a good pick. Four and a half stars ****/*
If you want to read The Bone Witch yourself, you can buy it on Amazon*.
*These links are affiliate links, meaning that buying from them will give me a part of the money at no extra expense to you!